Commander of Denmark's Joint Arctic Command rejects US president’s claims on Chinese and Russian ships circling around Greenland
Major General Soren Andersen, Commander Joint Arctic Command, poses for a photo on the deck of the HDMS Knud Rasmussen Royal Danish Navy patrol vessel, moored at the harbour in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 16, 2026. Photo: VCG
Major General Soren Andersen, Denmark's Joint Arctic Command in Greenland, on January 16 denied US President Donald Trump’s claims that Chinese and Russian ships are circling around Greenland and confirmed that he had not seen any Russian or Chinese combat ships in the area in the two and a half years he has been commander, according to media reports.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Denmark for, what he describes as, not doing enough to ensure Greenland's security, according to France24.com.
Trump has repeatedly claimed Russian and Chinese ships are swarming the seas around Greenland. Plenty of Greenlanders who spoke to AP dismissed that claim, reported AP.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Andersen said: “We don’t see any Russian or Chinese vessels around Greenland... there are Chinese and Russian vessels in the Arctic Ocean, but not near Greenland.”
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen earlier said that reports of Russian and Chinese ships operating inside Greenlandic fjords, including near the capital Nuuk, were incorrect. He also said claims about large Chinese investments in Greenland were inaccurate, according to Marine Insight.
Trump has said Greenland is vital to US security and has not ruled out the use of force to take it.
Several European NATO countries have deployed small numbers of military personnel to Greenland to participate in joint exercises with Denmark as US president ramps up his threats about forcibly annex the Arctic island.
When asked to respond to Trump's reported claims that the US needs Greenland and one of the reasons he gave was because it is "covered with Chinese ships," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on January 5 urged the US to stop using the so-called "China threat" as a pretext for itself to seek selfish gains.
Global Times
